Iconic in Loire Valley

Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The Foucault brothers' cult Chenin Blanc from the Breze hillside at Coteaux de Saumur. Dense, mineral and lanolin-textured, with quince and beeswax built for two decades of cellaring.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Langlois's icon Cremant de Loire. Chenin Blanc-led with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc, fully five years on the lees: dried apricot, toasted brioche and candied lemon, with a long honeyed pear and saline mineral palate.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The estate's flagship cuvee, drawn from the oldest tuffeau-limestone parcels around the historic cellars. Demeter biodynamic Cabernet Franc with long ageing potential.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Walled single-vineyard from tuffeau-limestone soils. Thierry Germain's flagship cuvee blends old oak and amphora ageing for a perfumed, mineral Cabernet Franc with serious cellar potential.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The walled clos opposite Chinon's chateau, owned by Couly-Dutheil since 1921. Tuffeau-limestone terroir gives cassis, cedar and a chalky mineral length in the estate's flagship Chinon.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The Joguet flagship from an old-vines clay-limestone clos planted in 1953. Powerful, structured Cabernet Franc with cedar, graphite and a leathery, slowly-evolving finish.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

South-facing tuffeau-limestone parcel above the Vienne. Alliet's most structured cuvee: cassis, cedar and a chalky mineral grip in the Left-Bank-influenced house style.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Nicolas Joly's 7-hectare biodynamic monopole AOC on schist over the Loire. quince, honey and waxy texture over an electric mineral spine.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold

Couly-Dutheil's prestige cuvee from the best clay-limestone parcels of Clos de l'Echo. Heavily barriqued, structured for long ageing, with cedar, sweet spice and a chalky graphite finish.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Bottled from ungrafted Cabernet Franc planted on sand soils. Lighter-footed and more aromatic than the limestone cuvees, with rose and wild raspberry over a fine-grained mineral spine.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Single-vineyard Bourgueil from the Grand Mont tuffeau-limestone slope at Bourgueil town. Pierre-Jacques Druet's structured, age-worthy Cabernet Franc with cassis and chalk.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Limestone-grown Cabernet Franc from the highest, latest-ripening parcel at Cravant. Denser, more vertical and slower-developing than Les Grezeaux, with chalky minerality and high-toned cassis fruit.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The Foucault brothers' cult cuvee, born from a single tuffeau-limestone parcel at Chace. Dense, perfumed Cabernet Franc with cedar, graphite and a chalky, mineral length that defines what Saumur-Champigny can be.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

The estate's village-level cuvee, blending parcels around the cellars at Chace. More accessible than Le Bourg and Les Poyeux but with the Clos Rougeard signature: fine tannin, mineral length, and a perfumed lift.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Cult Anjou Chenin from a 0.7-hectare parcel of centenarian vines planted 1910 on chalky-clay plateau. A few thousand bottles a year of cellar-worthy dry Chenin Blanc, virtually impossible to find.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Old-vine biodynamic Bourgueil from a tuffeau-limestone parcel. The Bretons' flagship: cassis, chalk and graphite Cabernet Franc with serious cellar potential.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Rustic

A clay-limestone single vineyard that has produced Raffault's library-aged flagship since the 1940s. Released only after long bottle age, it shows leather, dried fruit and tertiary forest-floor depth.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Cult Saumur-Champigny from the Les Poyeux climat. More aromatic and slightly lighter-footed than Le Bourg, with dark cherry, tobacco and a long, fine-tannin mineral length.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Cult Anjou Chenin from a 0.45-hectare parcel of 80-year-old vines on light limestone upstream of the Layon. The most lifted of Bernaudeau's three bottlings.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The estate's flagship single-vineyard cuvee, named for Philippe Vatan's daughters Lise and Agathe. Tuffeau-limestone Cabernet Franc with cedar, chalk and a savoury, espresso-tinged finish.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant · Festive

Ackerman's iconic Cremant de Loire, named for the son of founder Jean-Baptiste Ackerman. Chenin, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc each vinified separately, blended for harmony: ripe white and red fruit, brioche and dried fruit length, with a delicately spiced white-pepper finish.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Cru Communal Muscadet from 60-year-old vines on gravel, clay, sand and granite. Originally called Granite de Clisson; 24+ months on lees give the cuvée structural depth.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Savoury

Cru Communal Muscadet from gabbro, a decomposed blue-green igneous rock unique to Gorges. Smoky, structured and intensely mineral, age-worthy beyond a decade.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Savoury

Cru Communal Muscadet from gabbro, the decomposed blue-green igneous rock unique to Gorges. 70-year-old vines and long lees ageing produce incredible texture and tension.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Landron's flagship single-vineyard Muscadet from orthogneiss and quartz parcels. Iconic cuvée from the region with long lees ageing and biodynamic depth.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Buisson Renard (formerly Buisson Ménard) is the broader, more exotic side of Dagueneau. Yellow plum and exotic spice over a full, ripe-fruited Sauvignon frame.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Pur Sang, established 1988, sits at the heart of Dagueneau's range. Citrus, saline mineral and flint smoke from a Kimmeridgian-clay terroir.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Pouilly-Fumé from Saint-Andelain flint terroir. Didier Dagueneau's flagship cuvée since 1990; pure pierre à fusil signature on a powerful, age-worthy frame.

Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Bottled from pre-phylloxera ungrafted Romorantin vines planted in 1850. The world reference for this rare Touraine grape, with quince, beeswax and saline length built for ageing.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Botrytis-affected Chenin Blanc from Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru AOC. Honey, apricot and preserved citrus on a multi-decade-cellar frame, the Baumard's flagship dessert wine.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Botrytis-affected Chenin Blanc from Pierre-Bise's Quarts de Chaume parcels. Honey, apricot and saffron over a multi-decade-cellar frame.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Patrick Baudouin's botrytis Chenin Blanc from Quarts de Chaume schist. Intense honey and apricot over Anjou Noir schist's mineral spine; multi-decade-cellar.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Elegant

Biodynamic blend across Vacheron's 48 hectares on Oxfordian limestone and silex. Pure Sauvignon Blanc with crystalline citrus, saline drive and a chalky finish.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Cotat's southern Chavignol parcel: laser-like Kimmeridgian minerality, vibrant salinity and yellow fruits that evolve toward honey and rock with bottle age.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The most overtly mineral of Cotat's three single-vineyard bottlings, from a steep 0.7 hectare Chavignol parcel of fossilised pebbles. Rewards 15 years for creamy, saline depth.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Cult Sancerre from the steep Monts Damnés slope in Chavignol. Smoky, strict and chiseled, with deep minerality from Kimmeridgian marl over white Portlandian limestone.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Pinot Noir from 50-year-old vines on pure silex. Burgundian in feel: macerated cherry and chestnut mushroom over cool, silken tannin and a smoky finish.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Single-vineyard Savennières from a butterfly-shaped parcel of schist with volcanic-rock pockets. Taut and chalky young; softens into honey and waxy texture with a decade.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The estate's library-aged flagship from old-vine tuffeau-limestone parcels. Released only after extended cellaring, with cedar, chalk and a savoury, espresso-tinged length.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Single-vineyard Vouvray Sec from Huet's Le Haut-Lieu tuffeau-limestone parcel (Demeter-certified biodynamic since 1990). Luminous, lively Chenin Blanc with multi-decade cellaring potential.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Botrytis-affected Chenin Blanc from Clos du Bourg in late-harvest conditions. Honey, apricot and preserved citrus over the cuvée's signature chalky acidity.

Dessert · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Foreau's most rarefied Moelleux. Produced only five times in the domaine's century-long history (1947, 1990, 2011, 2015, 2020).

Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Botrytis-affected late-harvest Chenin Blanc from Foreau's tuffeau-limestone parcels in Vouvray. Bottled only a few times per decade, with documented multi-decade cellaring potential.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Third-generation Foreau's flagship dry Vouvray from south-facing parcels on tuffeau limestone. Crystalline citrus and chalk minerality with long cellaring.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Walled-vineyard Chenin on shallow limestone-clay. Combines mineral cut with generous texture, the most powerful of Huet's three Sec wines.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Refreshing

Le Haut-Lieu is the original 9-hectare Huet vineyard on deep clay over limestone. Approachable young yet capable of long ageing.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Le Mont's flint-rich hillsides produce a tight, mineral Chenin Blanc. Electric salinity and tense citrus on a multi-decade-cellar frame (drinking window 5 to 30 from vintage).